About Crown Tree Services
As part of our service, we try to help private homeowners understand the ethics, benefits and practical considerations involved in proper tree care. We primarily provide tree surgery, tree pruning, tree reduction and tree removal services across Dublin, Bray and North Wicklow.
Crown Tree Services primarily work across Dublin, Bray and North Wicklow, but much of the general pruning guidance on this site may be relevant to readers elsewhere.
Our Approach to Tree Care
At Crown Tree Services we operate with an environmentally motivated work ethic. We consider the effect of each and every cut on the trees we prune and are mindful of how important properly maintained trees are. This applies not only to the health of the trees, but also to how the garden is used and enjoyed; its light, shade, shelter, cosmetic appearance, privacy screening, ecology and the wildlife it supports.
Our approach is about pruning carefully, retaining trees where practical, and removing them where they have genuinely become unsuitable, unsafe or beyond reasonable management.
For advice on pruning, reduction or tree removal in Dublin, please get in touch.
Gardens offer us a peaceful place to enjoy our own small slice of the natural world, watching and listening to the birds, bees, pollinating insects and other creatures that make use of them and the refuge provided by their trees and hedgerows. With aggressive development continuing across Dublin city and suburbs, we are of the opinion that wherever possible it is important to retain and plant trees in and around our city’s gardens, and to conserve the natural nesting habitat so many small birds, insects and animals rely on.
These gardens are of course our own to enjoy for now, but we are also their stewards – for ourselves, for the trees and for the generations to follow. Call or contact us today to discuss your tree work.
Nesting Birds and Timing of Work
During our 18 years in business, we’ve consistently maintained an ecologically sensitive approach to tree care, treating the nesting period with respect and being mindful to advise customers on the consequences of aggressive or badly timed pruning on the ecosystem of their garden.
We approach tree pruning with reference to our own ethical guidelines and with regard to the Wildlife Act 1976. While hedgerows are given particular consideration, we also choose to treat active nests in trees with the same practical caution. In practice, this means thoroughly checking for signs of nesting activity before work begins, avoiding unnecessary disturbance to dense hedges or trees during the nesting season, and delaying work where active nests are present.
Maintenance trimming and pruning may still be possible in many situations, but heavy reduction or removal of dense hedgerows requires an awareness of when holding off is necessary. Certain trees can be pruned, reduced or removed during the nesting season once we can verify no active nesting is taking place. We provide advice to customers on timing, pruning choices and the likely effects of tree work on the wider garden ecology.
Planning work during nesting season?
Some tree pruning or hedge cutting may need to wait if nesting birds are present. We can advise on timing before work begins.
Call us now 085 177 5500 or contact us for a free estimate.
As part of our service, we try to help private homeowners understand the ethics, benefits and practical considerations involved in proper tree care. We primarily provide tree surgery, tree pruning, tree reduction and tree removal services across Dublin, Bray and North Wicklow.
Crown Tree Services primarily work across Dublin, Bray and North Wicklow, but much of the general pruning guidance on this site may be relevant to readers elsewhere.
Tree Removal and Second Thoughts
Are you considering tree removal in Dublin, Bray or North Wicklow? If you’re thinking of calling a tree surgeon to remove your tree, it’s worth giving the decision careful consideration, particularly where the tree is healthy.
Once a tree is removed, there is no putting it back. Take your time, and consult with a tree surgeon before making a final decision. Crown Tree Services will be happy to assess the situation and talk through the options available.
Tree removal is sometimes necessary, but it is a severe and irreversible solution to a perceived tree problem. Determining the seriousness of the issue is a good first step. In some cases, pruning, crown reduction or other tree management options may be available.
Before you make a final decision on a tree you’re having second thoughts about, stop, think and contact a reputable Dublin based tree surgeon. There may be a compromise short of complete removal of the tree.
Call 085 177 5500 to arrange a site visit. If we cannot help you directly, we may be able to point you in the right direction.
Before Tree Replacement
Tree replacement can be worthwhile, but it usually takes time for a new tree to establish. Slow growing trees can take many years before they provide useful shade, screening, shelter or nesting habitat.
Before committing to tree removal and starting again, consider what trees and shrubs you already have. In many cases, careful pruning, crown reduction or other tree work can improve light and restore the feel of a garden while preserving the habitat an established tree already provides.
Before removing a mature tree, it is worth asking whether the problem can be managed rather than starting from scratch.
Planting vs Retaining Existing Trees
Planting or replanting does not always need to be the first choice, particularly if you already have a healthy tree growing in your garden. An existing tree can often continue to thrive without blocking too much light or overwhelming the space, provided it can be suitably pruned or reduced.
For that reason, I feel it is our combined responsibility as arborists, tree lovers and homeowners alike to help facilitate long-lived, healthy amenity trees in the Dublin and Bray areas, and wherever similar conditions allow.
Pruning, Reduction and Tree Restoration
We try to preserve, restore or salvage a tree wherever possible. If your tree has been badly cut in the past, it may be a good candidate for phased crown restoration. If the damage is severe, it may need attention over the course of several years, as pruning too much foliar material all at once can worsen the condition of a tree that’s already in poor health. In many cases, careful corrective pruning of improperly cut sections, crown reduction, crown lifting or thinning of reactive growth can resolve a problem without removing the tree entirely.
The above applies to trees in good health, without serious defects or structurally compromising disease. See the images below showing a fallen laburnum that succumbed to strong winds, and a large horse chestnut with extensive cambial damage, decayed heartwood and the early stages of woodworm infestation.
Should a tree require removal due to severe ill health, root rot, major decay or proximity to high-risk targets such as houses, home offices, play areas, sheds or immovable ornamental structures, Crown Tree Services of Dublin can provide the necessary recommendations and tree surgery services to help carry out safe tree dismantling. We can also offer practical advice on selecting and planting a suitable replacement tree where appropriate.
I find a little goes a long way when tree pruning operations are carefully performed. A well executed crown reduction, crown lift or height reduction can often help achieve the desired result of allowing more light into your home or garden without having to sacrifice the tree in its entirety.
Alas, this is not always the case. On occasion, either due to a tree’s size, condition or proximity to your home, more drastic reduction measures such as hard pruning or tree removal may need to be considered.
Except in hazardous tree scenarios, complete removal of a tree is usually the last and most severe option. Hard pruning trees often increases the risk of unwanted stress reactions. These can manifest as vigorous reactive regrowth, tree decline and even tree death. Hard pruning is not recommended and, in terms of tree health, should be avoided unless deemed absolutely necessary.
Contact us if you’d like to discuss the potential problems associated with aggressive pruning.
Planning Hedge Cutting Around Nesting Season
Nesting season runs from 1st March to 31st August every year. During this time, birds may be occupying trees, shrubs or hedgerows, particularly in quiet, dense or thorny areas.
Large and small suburban gardens in places such as Killiney, Glenageary, Blackrock and Dun Laoghaire, and larger rural gardens around Enniskerry and Bray, may need particular care when planning hedge cutting, tree pruning or hedge reduction.
Hard cutting back of hedge height or depth is usually better left until after 1st September, and can continue until the end of February. In Ireland, cutting down hedges or removing hedges completely should also be kept to this window.
Pay particular attention to thorny hedgerows made up of hawthorn, blackthorn, pyracantha, berberis and similar species. Thorns are prized habitat for smaller birds, offering natural defences against larger predators, as well as a useful source of food.
As a result of the nesting period, hedge reduction work can be slower for Dublin tree surgeons. In my opinion, it is a small price to pay if it allows native songbirds to attend to their young undisturbed.
Environmental Approach
All recyclable material we generate is composted or used for mulch where practical. We aim to avoid sending usable green waste to landfill.
Many of our Dublin and Wicklow clients seek us out because they want tree surgery carried out with care for the tree, the garden and the wildlife it supports. Pruning is carried out with an awareness of tree health, timing, habitat and the long-term use of the garden.
If you are looking for an environmentally mindful tree service in Dublin, Bray or North Wicklow, Crown Tree Services will be happy to advise.
Service Areas
Crown Tree Services provides tree surgery and related tree care services across South Co. Dublin, Dublin 18, Bray and North Wicklow. Locally, we work in areas including Ballybrack, Killiney, Glasthule, Deansgrange, Dun Laoghaire, Foxrock, Monkstown, Cornelscourt, Cabinteely, Sallynoggin and nearby areas.
We also serve many parts of North Wicklow, including Bray, Greystones, Kilmacanogue, Delgany and Enniskerry.
Contact us today for your free quote
Information for Readers Outside Ireland
Visitors from outside Ireland are welcome to browse the site. Some of the information on tree pruning, tree maintenance and tree care may be useful beyond Ireland, particularly in places with similar climates, growing conditions or located on the same general latitudes.
About Sam Brady
I completed my NPTC training in Carlow with Tree Care Ireland in 2006. I am keenly involved in the field of arboriculture, my focus areas being tree health and safety. I enjoy my work deeply, it brings me to a new place on a daily or weekly basis and I learn something new during every job. Mount Usher Gardens is my research hub of preference for checking out unusual and mature tree species and to just breathe in the beauty of the place. I am currently preparing for the ISA Arborist Certification in Dublin.